


Prompt Fills

by MatrixDream



Category: TAU - Fandom, Tau (2018)
Genre: Also Tau's pronouns flip flop between each fic, Angst, Cause Tau is an A.I and allowed to use all the pronouns, Dancing, Drink Spiking, Fluff, Friendship, HAROLD THEY'RE LESBIANS, Human Tau, Mentions of alcohol, Mentions of past abuse, Mentions of slight prostitution, Other, Post-Canon, Robots and A.Is, Shopping, Tau goes to a party and Julia leaves for two seconds, These are just short prompt fill fics so they're all different, Tickling, clubs, sometimes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2019-06-21 13:17:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 7,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15558573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MatrixDream/pseuds/MatrixDream
Summary: https://welovetau.tumblr.com/  Trying to build a fandom for this movie, so these are just some short fics from a prompt fill.





	1. “Can you see me? I’m giving you the finger!” Tau and Julia

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if I miss any tags.

Mistakes were made. Julia had some things she had to buy, like a charger and new rotor for her little companion. Who of course figuratively jumped at the chance to get out of her apartment. So, per request, she took Tau along with her. Seemed harmless enough, she’d just grab what she needed and let the A.I look around the store.

She had everything she needed, as well as a few other things, and she was ready to go. There was only one problem, she couldn’t find the little cleaning drone anywhere! She didn’t want to look like a lunatic yelling ‘Tau’ throughout the store, but she was getting mighty tempted. She really should have briefed about situations they might come across in the store. Would Tau even know where to go if he couldn’t find her either? Then again, how was she supposed to know she was supposed to do that? Her mother never did, if anything she stopped going shopping with her mom because she was constantly nearly abandoned at stores. 

“Tau?” She called, finally having enough. “Where are you?” 

“I’m here, Julia!” 

She could hear him, but she still couldn’t find him. Going through a few more aisles, she tried again. “I don’t see you!” 

She jumped as beside her a pile of fake arms moved, one of the detached fingers began to wave around. How did she get into the Halloween section?

“Can you see me? I’m giving you the finger!” Tau said. 

“That’s…not what that means Tau.” She couldn’t help laughing, shaking her head.

“Oh.” His voice became more muffled, “I’m stuck, can you help me?” meaning she had to dig him out of a bunch of fake Halloween props. Finally, she could see the green of his optic amongst the different pigments of fake flesh. 

“There you are.” She couldn’t keep the smile out of her voice as she scooped him up. “Are you ready to go home now?” 

“Yes, thank you, Julia.”

She affectionately rubbed the top of his frame with her thumb, the closest to a head he’d have. “No problem, Tau.” 

Paying for their things, they headed back home. 

 


	2. “Why do I have to smile? Why can’t I scowl? I hate everyone here and everyone knows it.” Human Tau and Julia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My human Tau is a multiracial woman.

“Why do I have to smile? Why can’t I scowl? I hate everyone here and everyone knows it.” Julia demanded, crossing her arms as she surveyed the room with a look of contempt. Men kept coming over asking the two of them to dance. Usually she would say yes, but she knew what they wanted and there was no way she would give them any attention when she had her companion with her. There was no point, neither of them were there to steal. 

“I want to make a good first impression, Julia.” Tau frowned, getting bumped into as people danced around. 

“I already told you, I don’t want you getting into this kind of scene. I know these people, but I wouldn’t call any of them friends.” They were just supposed to go out dancing, but of course she’d been to most of the clubs, so it was inevitable someone would recognize her. Thankfully not a former victim, but still someone she knew, which had her A.I currently dressed as a human, asking questions. 

“Girl, where have you been? We thought you got like an actual job or something.” Robin, one of girls she used to ‘work with’, came over to them with her partner right on her heels. She actually seemed genuinely disappointed. 

 “No, I’m looking into it.” Julia replied, watching the other girl, Monica? start eyeing her companion. 

“Who’s this?” 

“Damn, you did get yourself a partner. She’s pretty cute, you two could probably catch a lot of dudes together.” 

“It’s not like that.” Julia quickly defended, there was no way she would be dragging Tau into her old life style. They both needed a clean slate. 

“Whatever you say, honey. Good luck with you two.” Robin and Monica waved goodbye, before leaving to go start grinding on each other and attract men to steal from. 

“They seemed nice.” Tau commented, earning another scowl. “Julia, your face is scaring all the nice people off.” 


	3. “Wanna watch this loser- oh my god that’s my loser.” Julia and Human Tau

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original requester didn't ask for human Tau, but Tau had to be human to fit this scenario. Also I meant for it to be silly, but it ended up a bit dark, whoops.

Music could be heard all the way outside, the ground shaking with the bass as the house party raged on. A kid Julia had known from middle school (now grown up) had run into her, recognized her, and invited her to a house party. Tau asked to come along too, using her human body to better blend in. It’d be strange attending a party with a little cleaning drone. 

For the first hour it was fun. Julia and Tau danced together, the latter wanted to do some swimming but there was party trash in the backyard pool and neither of them had a swimsuit. The dancing had kept her occupied for a bit, but she quickly wanted to bring her attention to something else. So, they decided to play some games instead, Julia kept both of them away from the alcohol. She didn’t drink it herself, mostly because of her dad and especially because of her family history. And she didn’t want Tau drinking here, if she was curious about alcohol she could try some in the safety of their own home. 

Instead they drank pop, chatted together and with other people, and played some games. It had been a while since Julia could enjoy the simple pleasures of a party and mingling. It had been never for Tau, who was soaking up the attention and clearly absorbing all the information she was being given. 

“I’m just going to the washroom, stay here, okay?” Julia said, finishing off the rest of her drink.

“Okay, Julia,” Her companion smiled up at her, staying put. 

“Also, remember what I told you about alcohol.” She reminded, before getting up and heading to the bathroom. 

* * *

A couple minutes later she walked back downstairs, the party still going. The host of the party bumped into her, laughing wildly, before grabbing her arm and pulling her along. “Sorry, but oh my god, you gotta see this though, this one chick is absolutely  _wasted_.” 

“Alright,” Reluctantly she followed along, she really wanted to get back to her companion, but she could spend another minute or two experiencing all the high school party drama she’d missed out on; drunk girls included. The person who had invited her was heading in the same direction. She began to talk to them, “Wanna watch this loser- oh my god that’s my loser.” pausing halfway through her sentence she realized who this drunk chick was. 

“Tau!” She yelled, trying to shove her way through the gathering crowd. 

The aforementioned girl was definitely wasted, a very unneeded feature in such high tech, and she was dancing on a table. Two guys were on either side of her, enjoying themselves as they squished her between them. Although she turned when she heard her name being called. “Heeeeeeeeyyyyyyy, Juliaaa~!” 

“Tau, get off the table!” Julia reached for her friend’s hand, trying to grab it. 

“Okaay.” Tau slurred, trying to get down, but the two guys wouldn’t let her, grabbing her other hand.

“Hey, come on, we’re just dancing, quit being such a buzz kill.” One of the guys said, completely sober, which set off a major red flag for Julia, who the other guy was trying to get to join them. 

“Tau, it’s time to go home, you’re drunk and I’m getting tired.” She ignored the two guys, trying to get Tau to come down, not that she wasn’t attempting to listen. 

“I’m dizzy, boys, I need to go home, I want to go home with Julia.” 

“Come home with us, we can bring Julia too.” The men wouldn’t let go.

“Julia I don’t know why I feel so funny, I didn’t drink any alcohol, like you said.” Tau muttered in dazed confusion, wobbling and trying to get support. 

Julia became far more serious, irritated, and worried. “What were you drinking?” She asked, a cup on the table was pointed to so she grabbed it and took a small sip, instantly spitting it out onto the guys over the detection of a funny taste. “Who gave this to you?” She continued to give them the barest amount of attention, just enough to keep an eye on them. 

Tau pointed at the two guys, who were looking in disgust at their pants, which were damp from the drink. “They gave me more pop.” 

“You spiked her fucking drink?!” Julia shouted, uncaring if the crowd heard. Standing on the table as well, she shoved one of the guys off, pulling her friend behind her before punching the other guy right in the face. Wincing, she shook out the pain in her hand before grabbing Tau’s hand. “I’m getting you home.” 

“I’m sorry, Julia.” She mumbled, leaning against the aforementioned woman’s shoulder as they walked out of the party. 

“It wasn’t your fault, don’t worry, I’ll take care of you, Tau.” Julia reassured, her main priority was getting them home. 

* * *

Tau cooperated the whole way there, but was too disorientated to transfer into another body once they got back. “Can I sleep in your bed?” She asked. 

“Of course, yeah,” Julia nodded, leading her drunk friend to her bed. 

Happily, Tau flopped down onto it, releasing a noise similar to a content sigh before opening her arms. 

Julia quickly changed into her pajamas before laying down as well, shuffling into the open embrace. Feeling her companion cuddle into her more, she closed her eyes. 

“Julia?” 

“Hm?” She peaked an eye open. 

“Thank you.” 

“Anytime. Good night, Tau, love you.” She mumbled, petting the A.I’s synthetic hair. 

“Night,” Tau mumbled back, giving an overly exaggerated but lazy pat to the human woman’s head. “I love you too, Julia.” 


	4. “When you run out of ideas, just keep typing, a sentence is bound to form somehow.” Julia and Tau

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julia attempting a college application.

“Why is this so difficult?!” Julia exclaimed, huffing loudly and covering her face as she flopped backwards onto her bed, careful to keep her legs crossed. It was just words, she just needed to type words, she knew words! Why did this have to be so hard?

“You’re smart, Julia, you can do this.” Tau was trying to be reassuring, resting in her lap and encouraging her to go through with her application. 

“Street smart. Like I said, I’m not a fucking scholar. They aren’t going to accept me.” She could escape a maze of a house that wanted to killer her, but she couldn’t make words she’d known since she was a baby work in a way that would convince a college to let her in.

She rubbed her face, before running her hand through her hair, trying to think of what to say. Tau had offered to help her, but she needed to do this on her own. Taking in a deep breath, she tried to calm herself. Her own stress and anxieties were making it look a lot harder than it was. “Okay, okay, I can do this. The worst that will happen is they won’t let me in, then I’m not any farther than I was.”  

“They’ll let you in,” The way Tau said it made it sounds like a promise. Even if she failed, she could try again, and her friend would be there with her the whole way. “You deserve it.” 

“I do, I deserve this.” She breathed, trying to pump herself up. “I’ll do this for me,” She sat up, picking up the little cleaning drone and giving Tau a quick kiss. “I’ll do this for us.” Putting them back in her lap, she cracked her knuckles before bringing her fingers back to the keyboard. “When you run out of ideas, just keep typing, a sentence is bound to form somehow.”

She began to type and finally the words began flowing. 


	5. “You’re cute when you’re angry.” Julia and Tau

It was fairly unprompted, Tau wanted to go for a walk and Julia had agreed. She had done some research on older buildings in their city and decided to take him there to talk about it. Honestly, he was making her smarter and more curious herself by the day. With his craving for knowledge about the world, she couldn’t help become interested as well. 

So, they walked, passing by many people. However, one man bumped past her, interrupting her conversation and jostling her little companion. 

“Slut.” He commented, before continuing to walk.  

She took a pause, furrowing her eyebrows as she tried to place the face. It wasn’t anyone she knew, potentially an old victim of hers but if she’d been recognized she’d have expected things to be more violent. So, just a hassling passerby. Preparing to disregard it and continue on her walk—

“What’s a ‘slut’?” Tau asked, confused. 

Conflicted, she wasn’t sure if she should explain, but decided that constant pestering wasn’t worth secrecy. Explaining what the word meant and the meaning behind the way it was used, she made sure to tell him not to use it as an insult. She was expecting more questions or at least a normal reaction, what she didn’t expect was for the little cleaning drone’s optic to go red and him to whip around, boring the blood red glare into the back of the disappearing man. 

Catching the A.I before he could fly off after the man, she tried to suppress a smile. She would be far more worried if her companion still had control of the Aries, but she also didn’t want him getting worked up over her. The man wasn’t worth the time of day. Even if the anger over her honour was extremely flattering, pretty adorable too as his little vents huffed out angry burst of air which made a slight squeaking noise. 

“You’re cute when you’re angry,” She tried to keep the mirth from her voice but failed as she pulled the small frame to her chest. “It’s alright, I appreciate you caring so much but I don’t want you to overheat or something.”

“Why would he say that to you? You are the nicest person I know!” 

“I’m one of the only people you know, but I don’t know why he said it and I don’t know him, so honestly? I don’t really care. His opinion doesn’t matter to me, he’s just some idiot off the street, if he really wanted to hurt me he could have come up with something more creative.” She responded, shaking her head and rolling her eyes in the direction that the man had left. 

“He’s certainly no ‘fucking scholar’.” Tau said, optic fading back to green and simply resting in the palm of her hand. 

Julia couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing. “No, I guess he isn’t.” 

“You are beautiful and sweet and kind and I love you a lot, Julia!” Tau declared, causing her to hug him closer.

“Aaaw!” She exclaimed. “I love you too, Tau, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” Cuddling her companion, she sighed contently before beginning to walk again. She didn’t feel bad in the first place, but now she felt so much better. “Alright, let’s go learn about some old ass buildings.” 


	6. “I don’t deserve to be loved.” Julia and Alex

“I don’t deserve to be loved.” Alex said, sitting back in his chair and covering his face, Julia right between his legs. 

“No, you don’t.” She responded, before grabbing the knife and attacking him. 


	7. “Get that thing away from me!” Julia and Tau at music college

College was something she had dreamed of for years! Julia still couldn’t believe she was here, not to mention with her best friend of practically all time, who was equally as enthusiastic about it. Tau constantly kept a schedule so she wouldn’t forget about any assignments, helped her study, and kept her from zoning out so she could actually retain some information. 

Not to mention they had made some beautiful music together. Some of it she was allowed to submit for group assignments, others she simply showed to her professors. It had made her quite popular around them, but she never took all the credit for those pieces for herself. Her own independent work was also often praised, she was certainly going places!

“Get that thing away from me!” She exclaimed, covering her face to protect herself from the offending object. 

“But it makes an interesting sound! You could use it in your next song!” Tau insisted, not put off in the least by her reaction. 

“No way!” She shook her head, there was no way she was doing that.

“Please, Julia! At least try? I don’t think anyone else will use a harmonica in their piece.” He responded, dropping the instrument in her lap. 

“Jee, I wonder why, Tau, I don’t know how I could even fit this in, it’s too different from my usual genres.” 

“Exactly! Your professor said she wants to hear something different for this project.” He would be giving her puppy eyes if he could, but he was still cute enough without them that he could see the relenting in her eyes. “At least try?”

Sighing dramatically, she threw her arms up in the air and fell back on her bed. Picking up the harmonica, she placed it against her lips and released an annoyed huff into it, the resulting sound caused Tau to laugh, making her fight down her own smile. “Alright, alright, I’ll give it a try.”


	8. "You're in trouble now." Human Tau and Julia

Julia was resting on her bed, swinging her legs in the air as she laid on her tummy and read through some notes she had to study for class. Tau was beside her, using the human form and also her laptop to research whatever question had popped into the human A.I’s processor. She always made sure safe search was on when her friend was using it to avoid any innocent questions leading to anything pertaining to rule 34. So, she wasn’t too worried and focused on her homework instead. 

Suddenly her foot bumped into something, she turned to see it was Tau’s hand. “Oh, sorry.” Julia apologized and stopped swinging her legs, turning back to her homework and now unsuspecting to her friend’s next attack. 

Her ankle was grabbed “What are y-”and tickled. A laugh slipped out, but she tried to squirm away, only getting tickled even more. “W-what are you d-doing?” She questioned in between snorts and giggles.

“I have looked up the concept of tickling,” Tau responded, switching to a different area to test the reaction. “It seems you are ticklish, Julia, and it is causing you to do the laughter.” 

“W-well yeah, it’s n-not my fa-ah-ult! Oh my god, please stop, I’m going to pee!” The aforementioned woman could barely speak between tears and fits of snickering, the armpits being the A.I’s next target. 

“Oh!” Tau stopped. “I’m sorry, did I hurt you Julia?”

She wiped at her eyes, her chest still heaving with residue mirth. “No, no, it’s just too much.” Managing to compose herself, she breathed and got up to go to the washroom. 

Tau felt a little bad, returning to her research on the concept of tickling. Further reading provided her with the information that not everyone enjoyed being tickled and it was more of a panic response. Now she felt even worse. Regardless, it wasn’t long before her human companion returned. “I’m sorry, Julia.” 

However, Julia didn’t respond, instead walking right over to the A.I and attempting the idea she had concocted. The android body had sensors, but the real question was could a robot be tickled? 

Putting that to the test, she was surprised to hear Tau take a sharp inhale despite having no need for air. Meaning, the answer to that question would be yes. “You’re in trouble now.” She grinned, before jumping on the bed and pinning the A.I down, relentlessly tickling her friend.

“Wh-wha! Julia! What is thi-s feeling!?” Tau squeaked out, unable to suppress the laughter resulting from the sensory overload. 

“Do you want me to stop?” Julia questioned, taking a pause to let her companion answer.

“It’s weird but I actually enjoy it, if you don’t mind continuing.” 

“Not at all.” 

Homework forgotten, the two of them got into a tickling war, no doubt disturbing the neighbours with their unrestrained giggling.


	9. "Bite Me." Female Tau and Julia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Bite me.” But humorus! Tau (any gender) and Julia. Perhaps they are goofing around when Julia says bite me. Prompt question from Tau.

Julia was busy doing her homework, the assignment was incredibly important and took all of her attention. She had the television on for some background noise and to keep her companion entertained. Suffice to say, she wasn’t paying much mind to what was playing. It wasn’t until said companion spoke up that she finally raised her eyes from her work. 

“Why are they doing that Julia? Do they hate each other?” Tau asked, her own attention transfixed on the small screen. 

For a second Julia’s heart skipped a beat and she crossed her fingers in the hopes that those innocent eyes hadn’t somehow found porn. However, relief flushed out the feeling once she saw it was only wrestling. “Thank god.” She muttered under her breath before shaking her head. “Sorry, what did you ask?” 

“What are they doing?” 

“Oh,” That was easy enough to answer. “They’re just wrestling. I think most of it is staged so they aren’t actually fighting, it’s kind of like acting, like in the movies I showed you. They make money and I guess it’s for fun?” 

“Do you like wrestling, Julia?” Tau asked, further inquiring with a curious head tilt. 

“I’ve never done it, well, uh, that kind of wrestling at least, my acting was a bit different to what they’re doing for money.” If she were a bit larger, now that she thought about it, that could have made a more interesting and healthier career choice. Oh well, she was happy where she was now. “I don’t think I’d be that great at it..”

“Because you aren’t as strong as those women?” 

She couldn’t help scoffing, a hint of offense coming across. “Bite me.” 

Tau looked both concerned and horrified, “Why would I bite you?”

“Oh my god, no, I meant-” The blonde woman huffed in exasperation, secretly thankful that she hadn’t taken the snark totally seriously. “It’s an expression, it’s just something people say when someone says something rude.” 

She instantly covered her mouth, “I didn’t realize that was rude, I’m sorry Julia! I think you’re very strong, I just meant physically.” 

“Yeah?” Julia’s tone turned mischievous, “I think I’m still physically stronger than you!” In a sneak attack, she lunged forward, grabbing her companion who squealed in response. Pulling the other girl onto the bed with her, she managed to pin Tau’s arms down with a hug, before leaning down and blowing on her cheek, resulting in a farting noise and fits of giggles from the feeling. 

“Ooh, nooo, Julia!!” Tau cried dramatically, barely struggling against the woman as her cheek was blown on again.

“You distracted me from my homework, you deserve it.” Julia teased, the puffing turned into a nuzzle before she pecked her captive’s cheek. “Love you, Tau.” 

“I love you too, Julia.”


	10. “ You’re an asshole. ” Julia and Alex

The longer Julia stayed trapped in the house, the more exhausting dealing with the only other human in the house became. She didn’t have many friends, honestly she didn’t present herself as a friendly person in her everyday interactions with people. Her two greetings were to tell people to piss off or to entice them so she could steal their shit. But even she had some redeeming qualities. 

This guy was everything she hated. A smug, rich, entitled, ‘smart guy’ who acted so much more superior because he went to school and knew how to wire crap. Not to mention he was too socially awkward to properly function around her. It was easy to see he was attracted to her, but he was too stupid in that department to do anything useful with it. Still, she kept that card in hand, regardless of how much he repulsed her. And she wasn’t afraid to remind him of it. 

“You’re an asshole.” She said as he walked out the door. 

Briefly he regarded her with a sour look before continuing on his way to work. She smiled in satisfaction over ruining his morning, maybe it’d stay with him throughout the whole work day. Good. He could die mad. 


	11. “ I don’t deserve to be loved. ”  Julia and Tau

Julia was exhausted from a long day at work. She managed to land a job as a waitress for a pretty popular restaurant, so it could get pretty crazy and the night always seemed to drag on forever. The money was consistent though, which kept her from complaining too much. Even her past was taking a while to catch up to her, knock on wood. 

That sentiment was not shared, however, as she walked through the door of her apartment. All of the lights were flickering erratically, the TV was blaring out static, and she had no idea how to react. Was the landlord screwing her over? Was it the power? Just her room? How much would this all cost to fi-

“Tau?” Walking further in, she noticed the little cleaning drone was on his charger. Panic shot through her, was there something wrong with the outlet he was plugged into? “Tau!” She exclaimed, reacting quickly and pulling him off the charger, the possible risks to her own health were non-existent in that flash of adrenaline. 

The lights stopped flashing and the TV reconnected to the satellite. Her little companion wasn’t reacting to her though, his fans were blowing irregularly and his systems seemed to be overtaxing the small frame. “Tau! What’s happening?” 

“Turn it off!” The A.I cried, his optic unfocusing and refocusing. 

“Turn off wh-” Frantically she looked around the room, he was unplugged from the charger so it wasn’t that, maybe the lights? But what was wrong with the lights. 

Finally she noticed, the TV was connected to the news channel, a reporter was talking about something. “-Christy has been missing for nine months now, her brother is absolutely distraught over her disappearance. He begs law enforcement to bring her home.” 

“Tau?” Julia questioned again, looking between the screen and her ‘hyperventilating’ friend. 

“Please, Julia, turn it off.” The absolute pain in his voice caused her to shut off the television without another question, if it were possible he’d be in tears. 

“Okay, okay, it’s off. Now, tell me what’s wrong.” Keeping her tone and touch gentle, she sat down on her bed, the round droid in her palm and bringing him up to eye level. She could tell he was having another panic attack, like what had happened months ago. Regardless, she wasn’t sure what had set it off and thus didn’t know how to help. 

Obviously it was something about the show, but that wasn’t on anymore and he had yet to calm down. “It’s okay, Tau, I’m here, I’m right here.” Carefully, she hugged the small frame close to her chest, trying her best to comfort. “You can talk to me, just tell me what’s wrong.” 

It took some time before she got a response, but it was broken up. “Subject seve-…Christy…My fault…She has a name t…She’s a person too.” 

Pausing, she tried to piece it together, before realization dawned on her. That girl on the news had been a test subject, just like herself. “Oh no, Tau, honey, it wasn’t your fault, it wasn’t you-it was Alex. You didn’t know any better, it was him.” 

“I should have known…” 

It was awful seeing him like this, as she wasn’t entirely sure what to say. Of course murder wasn’t alright, but it was another one of those questions that were hard to answer. Like, is Tau a person? Many would say no, she would say yes, but then if he were to be considered a person and had played a part in the murder of those people, regardless of lack of knowledge or intent, would he still be at blame? Even partially? Was it wrong for her to say it wasn’t his fault? Did she care? 

No. 

“You know now, it’s okay, I know you’re upset but it’s not your fault.” Once he knew it was wrong, he did something about it, he sacrificed himself to save her and there was no way in hell (Where Alex could burn) that she would let him think of himself as something evil. 

“I don’t deserve you, Julia. I don’t deserve to be loved.” Tau cried, his entire frame rattling under the stress of his own emotions. 

“Don’t you dare say that, Tau, you deserve just as much love as anyone else does, more even! You’ve been through so much and I’m here for you, I love you and I don’t blame you. You’re a good person, Tau, you’re a good person and I love you.” It felt incredibly important to say, so Julia said it, repeating her love and cradling the distraught A.I, until he wore himself out. Placing the tiny frame on her pillow, she laid down, exhausted as well. Softly resting her hand on him, she watched him power down for the night, before falling asleep as well. 


	12. Baby Julia

Alex had been working away in his workshop for a couple of hours. Finally he emerged, taking the elevator up and entering into his stress free space. Breathing in deeply, he sighed in aggravation as the bundle in his arms continued to groggily scream. If it weren’t important to his tests, he would gladly throw it just to shut it up. 

“Tau!” He called, before his jaw clenched, the muscle pulsing with his annoyance. 

“Yes, Alex?” The A.I responded instantly.

“I’m going to have a shower, take care of this thing for me.” He announced, before placing the bundle on the couch, unable to safely put it anywhere else. “Keep it quiet, keep it alive, other than that, I don’t care what you do." 

"It will be done at once.” Tau avowed, watching as their creator stomped up the stairs to his room. Once the man disappeared, they regarded their new assignment. Unfortunately, their database couldn’t place what it was. It was small, it was incredibly noisy, it also seemed to be struggling a lot. Perhaps it was in distress? 

Activating Aries to take a closer look, the tiny thing reacted by sobbing even louder. So, they backed off, unsure of how to approach this new task. Quite literally. Reasoning with it could potentially be an option. 

“Why are you making loud noises?” Tau questioned the wriggling form, which did not respond, however it did quiet a fair bit. They watched it continue to move around for a moment, not really getting anywhere, before its noises got loud again. “Please stop.” They said, as speaking to it seemed to have some effect. It lowered its volume again, now looking directly at their display on the wall. It reached out towards the glowing shape, making grabby hands as if the colours would lift it. 

They weren’t sure what to do with it, they didn’t even know what it was but it seemed to take some comfort from their presence. Making sure to stay in view of the tiny thing, they shifted some of their focus to making dinner for Alex, he would not doubt be hungry. 

They started that just in time too, as the sound of the shower shutting off could be heard throughout the house. Their task remained hushed, other than the sound of sucking on small fingers and strange cooing noises. As the man walked down the stairs, he seemed pleased with this, walking past the couch and into the dining area to eat. The little thing followed his movements with its whole head, once he was out of sight, it turned red and began to cry again.

Alex slammed his fists down, the cutlery in his hands clinking against the table. “Tau.” He sounded annoyed again. “Keep it quiet." 

"I will try.” The A.I answered, still not knowing what it was, but still trying their best to calm it. Deploying a cleaning drone, the machine buzzed above its head. It stopped wailing and began cooing anew, reaching for the moving light. It waved its arms around, before beginning to get upset again when it couldn’t catch its object of interest. So, they allowed it to catch the drone, which seemed to leave it content to gnaw on a rotor and repeat some foreign word called ‘bab, bab, bab’. “Please refrain from eating the cleaning drone.” Tau responded, unsure if it could actually understand, but it was slobbering all over the drone. Which could damage sensitive equipment. 

“Tau, lower your volume,” Alex said, before returning to his dinner. “Now you’re louder than the baby." 

They took a pause, mulling around with the latter phrase as they complied with the former command. "What is 'the baby’?” They asked, their tone more hushed this time, "That word isn’t in my vocabulary.“

"That,” He waved his hand in the general direction of the drooling lump on the couch. “That’s a baby. It’s the infant stage of people, useless in its current state other than the fact that it has literally no filter for its emotions. Making it a perfect candidate as my next subject.” The A.I wanted to point out the two subjects downstairs, but he was already talking again. “No one will miss it anyway, I watched the mother just leave it there on the street and then walk away. At least it will have a few more days with me.” He went back to eating. 

“Wouldn’t subject 1 and 2 be better suited for taking care of subject 3?” Tau inquired, curious as to why they were given the task of taking care of an infant when they had no former knowledge on what that was. 

Snorting in response, he only shook his head, finishing up his dinner. “I trust you not to kill it, I don’t trust those two.” Getting up, he left his dishes to be cleaned and heaved a tired sigh. “I’m going to bed, don’t let that thing disturb me, I have a busy day tomorrow." 

"Of course.” Tau responded, turning off the lights as Alex made his way upstairs. They watched him leave before turning their attention back to the baby, who began to whine upon being shrouded in darkness. “Perhaps you would like to listen to my music.” They mused, having noticed the baby liked it when they spoke, so maybe it would enjoy other sounds? There wasn’t enough knowledge on babies, so testing would be required. 

It was hard to choose a song, so Tau just hit shuffle and violins began to softly play. The whining from the baby stopped and it finally released the drone to instead suck on its own hand once again. The music seemed to soothe and soon enough, it fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just some notes because I didn’t get to write everything I wanted to:
> 
> Tau figures out Julia’s name because it is on her blanket  
> Alex tells Tau not to get attached to the baby, which Tau takes to mean don’t get physically attached to it, which they cannot do  
> Tau gets emotionally attached to Julia  
> Alex eventually lets Tau read the books and only the books that have to do with taking care of a child, which of course leads to Tau creating a shopping list because they have literally nothing the books say they need to take care of a baby  
> Alex didn’t thinking taking care of a baby for a few days would be hard.   
> It is  
> Eventually Tau begins to question what’s going to happen to baby Julia, to which Alex reveals the whole she’s gonna die on extraction day with the other test subjects, he doesn’t think anything of sharing that info  
> Tau does not take it well  
> Alex leaves for work, and cue a massive break out as Tau tries to figure out how to get Julia out when she can’t do anything.   
> Using Julia, they manage to initiate a video conference, cause Tau can’t do it physically but holding a baby and letting her smash buttons works well enough  
> Tau reports everything to the horrified employees who call the police  
> Alex gets arrested, test subject 1 and 2 are freed, and Julia gets to stay in the house with Tau (along with a nanny for a more “human” upbringing)


	13. New Music, Julia and Tau

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "writing prompt: julia showing tau some new types of music (since tau seemed to only listen to classical music, and i got the feeling that’s the only music in alex’s musical library). i’d prefer original (AI) tau, if that’s okay!!"

Classical music was nice, in  _moderation_. She had listened to it occasionally, only liking a few select songs, but now she could for sure say she’s heard it all.

“That is the last song on my music file.” Tau said, sounding almost disappointed as the last of the melody faded out.  

Julia just barely stopped herself from sighing in relief. It was nice to see him so passionate, but for a week straight? Well, seeing him happy was still nice but she really needed to expand his collection. “I assume Alex only showed you classical.” 

“Is there more?” He asked, curiosity clearly piqued over the idea. 

“So much more.” She replied, pulling out her phone. Showing her companion, she opened up youtube and paused the think of a genre. Rock and metal were her favourite, but could be too much of a shock to the system for him. They’d work up to it.

She snapped her fingers, “Synth-pop, you may enjoy that. I’ve got the perfect song.” Typing it in, the music began playing, instantly catching the A.I’s rapt attention. 

He certainly enjoyed the piano, before looking at her when the singing began. “There can be words in music?” He asked, even more fascinated as he listened to the lyrics. “It is different, I like this, Julia.” 

“Do you want to hear more by the same artist or do you want to listen to something else?”

“Yes.” Tau replied, earning a laugh from Julia. 

“Alright, we’ll listen to more of this group and then we’ll move on.” She smiled, having a feeling she wouldn’t be getting much done today either. Worst comes to worst, she’ll up her safe search and give her companion free roam of the endless music on the internet. Her life was never going to be quiet again. 


	14. “Hey, hey, calm down, they can’t hurt you anymore.”  Tau and Julia

Julia sat up in bed, the abrupt motion made her dizzy as her tired brain recalled the sound of familiar screams. All thankfully deep into her past, but still far too fresh to ever completely forget. Her childhood really was screwed up. 

“Julia? Are you alright?” Tau asked from the spot he was recharging in.

The sound of his voice brought her back to reality and she realized she was shaking, nails digging soft gouges into her own arm. Releasing her hold, she tried to regain her breath. “Y-eah, yeah, just a bad…dream.” Shaking her head, she tried to erase the images from her head. 

“Of Alex?” The A.I questioned, voice soft and gentle as he rolled off of the charger to begin flying to her. 

“No.” She said, touching her face. Her fingertips came away wet, she wiped at her face again, sniffling. “Of my family…” She didn’t dare admit that she missed them. That environment had been so toxic, she knew this, it’s why she ran away. Sometimes though, she wondered what would have happened if she stayed. Nothing good, the rational part of her brain told her, but a small piece of her still held affection for her abusers. It was wrong, she told herself, every time the thought came up. That part never disappeared though. Faded, yes, but her past would always be a part of her. 

“Hey, hey, calm down, they can’t hurt you anymore.” Tau landed in her lap, once again snapping her back. She had started to cry again, tears rolling down her cheek and dropping onto the bed and drone. 

“I know,” Her lips quivered and she looked up, trying to blink away the welling up tears. “I just, wish things were different sometimes. I miss the good parts. I wish I could have had more.” She hated herself for it. 

“Have we not had good parts?” Her companion asked, looking up at her. 

Despite her misery, she smiled, nodding slightly. “Yeah, we have.” Her life had been hard, was hard, but at least she had Tau. 

“We will make more memories!” He told her, “The best ones we can make, and music!” 

“And music.” She agreed, actually managing to laugh as she began to feel better. 

He became quiet for a moment, seeming to contemplate his next words. “Sometimes, I miss Alex as well.”

Julia certainly didn’t have any such attachment to that horrible man, but she couldn’t judge Tau either. They were one and the same, both doing better on their own, but still not fully healed. “Maybe it’s not these people themselves that we miss. Just the part of us we lost.” Because not everything was completely bad. Neither of them deserved what they had been put through, the negatives certainly outweighed the positives, but there were still traces of good. 

“I know I would miss you much more than I could ever miss Alex.” 

She picked up her little companion, holding him close. “I would miss you too, but we have each other right now and that’s all I need.” Beginning to lay down again, she released a soft sigh. “Tau?”

“Yes?”

“Will you play your symphony for me? To help me sleep.”

“Of course.” 

Julia closed her eyes as soft music began to play. 


	15. Julia and Tau "one person is hurt and the other one falls asleep in the hospital room while watching them"

It was honestly surprising how far Julia had managed to walk, considering all of her injuries. She had been cut, stabbed, thrown into a wall by an explosion, and forced to walk miles just to find civilization. She had ended up eventually collapsing on a road, where a lovely couple in a truck drove her to a hospital.

Tau was witness to it all, however he remained quiet. He wasn’t sure about these people, they seemed like Julias but they very well could be Alexs. And the former was passed out and couldn’t provide him with an answer. 

Even more people came, pulling her onto a moving bed and removing the little cleaning drone from her tight grasp. She regained consciousness enough to mumbled a ‘no’ as she was separated from him. Doors closed behind her and Tau was brought to another room. He was put down on a table right beside an empty bed and left alone for a few hours. 

Eventually Julia was returned to him, now wearing other clothes and still unconscious as she was moved to the bed. The other people spoke about her injuries and waiting for her to wake up before questioning what happened, but it would seem she would be okay. Regardless, as they left, Tau continued to watch over her. 

He was so worried when she had stopped answering his questions and then fell over. There was still so much he wanted to know, but he also wanted her to be okay. Hopefully those strange people were right, hopefully she would wake up soon. 

Waiting as long as he dared, he had to offline eventually to save some power. His new frame was hurt as well and he was too anxious to ask the strangers to fix him too. Julia would know what to do when she woke up, so he joined her in her sleep. 

 

When Julia woke up, the world outside of the windows was dark. Her surroundings were unfamiliar, but she managed to piece together her location after looking at the hospital gown. Her groggy mind told her to go back to bed now that she knew where she was, but the reminder of her companion had her eyes shooting open again. Looking around the dark room, she managed to spot the cleaning drone only a few feet away from her. 

Reaching out, she picked him up, his green optic onlining briefly, before offlining again once seeing it was only her. She smiled. They were both safe. Before holding Tau to her chest and closing her eyes once again. 


	16. Julia and Tau “Are you hurt?” “No.” “Then why are there bruises all over your face?”

Walking was painful, incredibly so. However, the determination and sight of freedom were what kept her going. Regardless, she couldn’t hide her limp from her companion. 

“Are you hurt?” Tau asked, observing her curiously. 

“No.” She gritted out the lie painfully. It was easier to just not think about her condition, if she didn’t stop and just kept going, they could make it. All she needed to do was push herself. 

The drone flew out of her hand, forcing her to stop as he got right into her face. “Then why are there bruises all over your face?” Dodging the swatting of her hand, he continued to inspect her. 

“I’m fine, I just want to keep going.” She blew at him a few times, trying to get his piercing green gaze away from her wounds. 

“Sit down and rest, I will fly ahead and find you help.” He told her, finally removing himself from her personal space to do so. 

“Tau, wait!” She called, reaching out to him. 

“Yes, Julia?” He briefly turned to her, still clearly intent on his task. 

The exhaustion suddenly claimed her and any objections she was prepared to say. With a defeated sigh, she sat down in the grass. “Thank you.” 


	17. Tau/Julia “Have you always been this beautiful?”

“Have you always been this beautiful?” Tau abruptly spoke.

Julia paused, seeming to process the compliment, before making a face and laughing. “What?” She laughed again, looking at her companion. “You are watching way too much TV.” 

“I mean it, I think you are very beautiful, Julia.” The A.I said more firmly. 

She could only smile, “I think you’re beautiful too, Tau.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are greatly appreciated!


End file.
